Russian and US security services to work on solution to Snowden fate

Russia and the United States are to collaborate over finding a solution to the
fate of surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden, a senior Russian official
has said.

Edward Snowden is believed to be holed up in a Moscow airport (AP)

By Tom Parfitt, Moscow

3:58PM BST 01 Jul 2013

Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia’s Security Council said on Monday that Presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama had ordered Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service, and Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI, to stay “in permanent contact” in an attempt to decide Edward Snowden’s fate.

Mr Snowden, a former CIA and US National Security Agency contractor, 30, is currently thought to be in a closed area of the transit and departures zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport after flying in there on June 23 from Hong Kong, where he leaked details of widespread surveillance by US security services of American citizens' emails and telephone calls.

Speaking on the Rossiya 24 channel, Mr Patrushev said: “Vladimir Putin has already expressed his thoughts about Snowden, as has US President Obama. Of course, we don’t have a solution that will satisfy both sides, so they [the presidents], have ordered Bortnikov, the director of the FSB, and Mueller, the director of the FBI, to be in permanent contact and find possible solutions.”

He added: “That said, I must underline that their task is not an easy one, because they must find a solution within the norms of international law. And today, at this moment, we cannot say that there is such a norm or a ready recipe.”

Both Mr Putin and Mr Obama have tried to downplay the furore surrounding Mr Snowden. The US president said last week that he would not scramble US jets if the computer technician tried to fly to Cuba from Moscow, passing over US airspace.

Ecuador, which initially suggested it could provide asylum to Mr Snowden, appears to have cooled on the idea. Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, is currently visiting Moscow, prompting speculation that he could take Mr Snowden away. Mr Maduro earlier said that Mr Snowden was almost certain to have his request approved if he asked for refuge in Venezuela.

US federal prosecutors filed espionage charges against Mr Snowden earlier this month and politicians in Washington earlier criticised Russia and China for allegedly facilitating his escape.